


Tea Time

by zysygy



Category: Ib (Video Game)
Genre: Don’t copy to another site, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-15
Updated: 2019-11-15
Packaged: 2021-01-29 10:31:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21408736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zysygy/pseuds/zysygy
Summary: Ib and Garry hang out at a café.
Relationships: Garry & Ib
Comments: 6
Kudos: 29





	Tea Time

The chairs were almost as tall as she was. Ib had to step carefully on the rung to hoist herself up. As she did, she thought about how she didn’t mind much how high up she was. She could imagine she was swinging on a swing or sitting on a cliff overlooking the ocean.

Okay, maybe that last one wasn’t the best thought. She gripped the edges of the table as she looked down below.

“Are you really okay with this table, Ib?” Garry asked from where he was sitting across from her. “I know all the smaller ones are taken, but we could just wait for one to open up.”

She shook her head. “It’s okay. I like it.”

“You’re sure?”

“Uh huh.”

He gave her his typical questioning look for a moment longer before smiling. “All right, then. Just tell me if you change your mind. Otherwise, let’s get down to business: what to drink?”

The question had her mouth watering, as did all the fragrances drifting through the warm, sunny interior of the café. The coffee smelled really good, or at least it smelled interesting. Coffee definitely smelled better than it tasted. Father had let her sneak a sip before when mother wasn’t looking, but apparently Ib had scrunched her face up enough that mother figured the situation out anyway.

Mother said kids shouldn’t drink coffee. Ib was fine with that rule.

She looked down at the menu. There were lots of different kinds of coffee. She wondered if they all tasted as weird as what father had given her. Maybe not, but she wasn’t about to take that chance, not when she had so little to spend. Actually, she had one bill, and she wasn’t sure how far it would go, but the fact that there was only one of it made it feel like a pretty small amount.

Next on the menu was tea. She had tried tea before too. Several times, actually. To her, it tasted like plants or something like that. She had a hard enough time finishing her vegetables and couldn’t guess why someone would want to drink hot watery leaves when they could drink hot cocoa instead.

Her parents said it was a good drink to relax with. Mother would meet with her friends all the time to just sit and talk while they sipped tea. Ib didn’t understand why it was so great, but some adults seemed to think it was.

That included Garry. He said he liked to drink it from time to time.

As she read over the menu, she saw hot cocoa as an option. She couldn’t help smiling excitedly, but she glanced up at Garry, wondering if he would want to get hot cocoa too. Maybe he would want tea. It was kind of a grown-up drink, and he was a grown-up, after all.

Absently, she looked over at the counter in front of their table and let her eyes grow wide at all the pastries and sweets on display. There they were! Those colorful sandwich cookies Garry had mentioned before. Macarons. She spotted chocolate ones and strawberry, plus other colors that she couldn’t guess a flavor for. She wondered what green would taste like?

She lightly swung her legs back and forth and tilted her head side to side to an imaginary tune.

Garry laughed. “You sure are cheerful, and we haven’t even gotten anything yet. I think I’ll get some tea. What about you?”

“Oh, yeah.” She had to think about it. She wanted to get the same thing as Garry. If he liked it, she probably would too. “I want tea,” she announced after a moment of debate.

He looked surprised. “You like tea, Ib?” She shrugged a little, as he went on. “I don’t think I liked it as a kid, but it grew on me eventually. I think I mostly like how calming it is. Since it’s hot, you have to slow down while you drink, plus the herbs are soothing. It’s definitely a good way to relax.”

Did she need to relax? She wasn’t sure. She had different things to worry about, like homework and tests, but it wasn’t so bad. “I want to try it,” she said. “And also a macaron.”

Garry glanced over at the display case. “Oh! I almost forgot to ask you about that. It would be great to have some with tea.” He frowned. “Though, they are kind of pricey.”

She laid her bill on the table. “How many could we get with this?”

Garry’s eyebrows raised. “Oh. Probably...half of them?”

“Wow,” she said. “Really?” Her eyes drifted over to the display of colorful sweets, for a moment seriously considering this possibility.

“No way!” he interjected, making her forget her sweet dreams. “Your parents wouldn’t forgive me if I let you have so many sweets. Anyway, have you tried one before? You don’t even know if you’ll like it.”

That was true. But they looked so bright and colorful. If their flavors didn’t live up to their appearance, she would be seriously disappointed. “Hm,” she mused. “But you like them, right?”

“Uh huh. It was good when I had one here last time. The texture was wonderful. Soft and creamy. Like a little cloud.”

She giggled. “Cotton candy is like a cloud. It’s like that?”

“Well, no. It’s not _that_ cloud-like. I just meant that it’s kind of light and airy. Anyway, it was good.”

“I want to try!” She shifted in her seat, bringing her legs up to lean forward on her knees. The chair moved a little, but she gripped the table as it did. “I‘d like a chocolate one, please.”

“Ib, be careful,” he warned, his expression cautious and concerned.

“Oh. Sorry.” She sat back, then frowned, glancing behind her and hoping mother didn’t notice her being hyper. She sometimes forgot her manners when she finally got to visit Garry, and more than once her parents had to remind her to calm down.

Fortunately, mother was turned away, chatting with her friend. Father, however, caught her eye and waved to her. She smiled and waved back before turning to Garry.

“Okay,” Garry said. “Do you want me to get it for you, or—“

“I’ll go with you.” She slid off the tall chair and back onto solid ground.

When they had their tea in front of them and a few macarons each, she didn’t make haste in taking a bite of one. “Mm,” she mumbled. “This is good!”

Garry had a strawberry one, which he tried after taking a drink of tea. “Yes, it’s delicious. What did I tell you?”

What had he told her before? She recalled that conversation, which seemed worlds away now. They had been standing in a spot where the sun was supposed to be shining, but it hadn’t been, in a world that shouldn’t have existed, but it did. It was a place straight out of a nightmare, but Garry had been there, so it seemed less like one, if only slightly.

They now sat in real sunlight, talking casually under its warmth, as if that craziness had never happened. Ib took a sip of the tea and grimaced.

“Is it bitter?” Garry asked. “You can add some sugar.”

“That’s okay.” She shook her head, taking a bite of macaron and then a sip of tea. Together, it was a different flavor...something bittersweet.


End file.
